National Tour of Blast! Jan. 18 at Mattie Kelly Arts Center

Mattie Kelly Arts Center

11/17/2011 - The national tour of Blast!, the Emmy and Tony Award-winning music spectacular will appear January 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville with a unique explosion of brass, percussion, flags, rifles, sabers, costuming and special effects. Tickets are now on sale with discounts for groups and schools.

An event for all ages, Blast! includes crowd thrilling instrumental and visual performers. Born on athletic fields across the nation, Blast! evolved from the showmanship of outdoor pageantry. A music-in-motion event that has astounded audiences around the globe repeatedly since its 2001 Emmy® winning PBS performance and 2001 Tony® winning Broadway performances, the local appearance of Blast! is sure to be a hit with school band members and music lovers across the Panhandle.

According to Bruce McCabe of the Boston Globe: "Blast! is an exuberant 15-number show that doesn't falter while bridging the categories of classical, blues, jazz, rock n roll, and techno-pop music. Blast! stands, blows, pounds, marches, and whirls with panache. It sent a full house into repeated bursts of cheering and applause."

Blast! tickets are on sale now by phone or web for $30 adult or $25 youth age 18 and younger or any college student with college ID. There is a group discount for groups of 10 or more tickets purchased together; groups are $25 adult and $20 for youth/college tickets.

For tickets, contact the Mattie Kelly Arts Center Box at (850) 729-6000 Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm or purchase online at www.mattiekellyartscenter.org. Large group sales such as schools should contact Jeanette Shires, Associate Director of the Mattie Kelly Arts Center at (850) 729-6004 for personal assistance.

BLAST! on tour consists of 35 members, drawn from the world of outdoor pageantry all across North America. The physical and musical demands of the production require that the performers be highly trained athletes who are also world-class musicians. There are over 40 world titles held by BLAST! cast members who comprise three performing sections – the brass, percussion and visual ensembles.

Months of intense training prepare the cast to produce thrilling performances where athleticism, musical talent, kaleidoscopic movement, and showmanship merge into an art form that is both compelling and entertaining, or in the words of Richard Quzounian of The Toronto Star, "Get your tickets now! BLAST! is nothing short of breathtaking; a free-wheeling fusion of then and now, [it] dazzles the eye, thrills the ear and stirs the spirit. A sure-fire hit."

BLAST! is produced and booked by Prather Entertainment Group. The official BLAST! cast recording is available on RCA Victor. For further information on BLAST! and the 2011 North American tour, visit www.blasttheshow.com.